Episode 814 - 4 Chefs Compete Again
The fourteenth episode of Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX, on December 8, 2010. On that episode, the chefs made fusion dishes, ran the hot plate during service, and two of them advanced to the finals. Intro While going back to the dorms, Nona was still emotional over seeing her family, while Trev said that seeing his sister reminded him why he came to Hell’s Kitchen. Then, Jillian said that winning Hell’s Kitchen would get her out of her boyfriend’s basement, and wanted to give her sons a better life. Individual challenge The next day, the chefs went downstairs, feeling more motivated than ever. However, Ramsay revealed that after the next service, two of them would be eliminated, though Trev did not care as long as he was in the finals. Then, Ramsay introduced the Fusion Challenge, where the chefs would make dishes based on a combination of two different countries, which concerned Jillian as she only made American food before. Ramsay revealed the possible countries, which were India, Greece, Spain, Thailand, China, Italy, France, and Mexico. Those countries did not ease Jillian’s worries, and Ramsay announced that he was going to call one chef at a time to pick two flags. Nona went first, and got Greece and Italy, which envied Trev as those two countries mirrored each other perfectly. Jillian got Thailand and Spain, Russell got France and India, and Trev was left with China and Mexico. The chefs had 45 minutes to create a fusion dish using ingredients from each of their countries. Five minutes in the challenge, while Russell, Trev, and Nona began cooking, Jillian was still looking at what to use, as she did not know what her ingredients were. Nona decided to even her countries' flavors, while Russell’s dish had mostly French aspects, with barely any Indian inspiration. Jillian debated on scrapping her beans as they were not cooking properly, while Trev added too much spice to his pan, and it caught fire. After Trev put the fire out, Ramsay gave him a fire extinguisher and told him to watch his hair, which made everybody laugh. Eventually, everybody got their dishes cooked and plated in time, but Jillian was not confident, and said that it sucked. The guest judges were Philip Dubose, Helene An, and Lee Hefter. Trev went first, and presented his Carne Asada with habanero. The dish was criticized for tasting bland and being off balanced. After, Nona presented her rustic seafood rago with Greek pasta, roasted tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette, maraschino cherries, and lemon chello. While the mussels and pasta were praised for their execution, the judges felt that it was two dishes instead of one. On the next round, Russell presented his duck a la orange with foie gras and tangerine syrup. The dish was criticized for having an overcooked duck and not a lot of Indian inspiration to it, but Russell arrogantly believed that his dish was the best, and told the judges to kiss his ass. Finally, Jillian, who was close to having a panic attack after witnessing the judge’s harsh critiques, presented her marinated shrimp, white rice, chorizo, and soybean curry, and it was praised for being interesting, having a nice flavor, and looking like a paella, which relieved her. After, all the judges picked Jillian’s dish as the best, and she won the challenge. She was especially happy that she proved Russell wrong, and that she deserved to be here. Reward Jillian was rewarded with lunch with Ramsay at Spago. During the limousine ride, Ramsay and her talked about how Russell was too cocky for his own good, and how she had a one in four shot at winning. When they arrived at Spago, they met Hefter, who took them to their table. Much to Jillian’s surprise, her boyfriend and sons joined them for lunch, and she said that her day could not get any better. Ramsay left after a while for Jillian to reconnect with her family, and she promised them that she would make it to the finals. Punishment The remaining chefs were punished by packing all the unneeded furniture in the dorms, and prepping the kitchen for the next service. During the punishment, Trev complained about how much he hated moving, but Russell felt that Trev was complaining like a bitch, while comparing him to a zit on his ass. While Russell had enough of doing punishments, he decided not to bitch about it. When Russell struggled to take two mattresses at once, an annoyed Nona said that he was acting overly cocky, and being a prick. Before service One hour before service began, Trev, Nona, and Russell began prepping, with full knowledge that only two of them would advance to the finals. Russell micromanaged Trev as he was prepping shallots, but Trev got annoyed, and wanted Russell to leave him alone. Jillian came back from her reward, got changed into her chef jacket, and joined prep, but noticed that Nona was the only one who greeted her when she came back. Russell continued to micromanage Trev, and Jillian hoped that she and Nona would in the finals, as an annoyed Trev said that he wanted everybody to go home. When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay told them that they had to show him their leadership skills at running a brigade. So, Ramsay revealed that he would give all of them a turn at running the pass. After reminding the chefs that they either run the kitchen or let the kitchen run them, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen. Dinner service Sasha Vujacic was in attendance. Ramsay called the first few tickets, and appetizers left at a steady pace. Russell was the first chef who ran the hot plate, immediately got in control, and became very vocal with the chefs, which allowed appetizers to leave at the same steady pace. When Sous Chef Scott sent truffle salads with pecans instead of walnuts, Russell quickly spotted the mistake, and rejected them as he said that it was his time to shine. Trev brought his scallops, but Russell rejected them for being raw, though Trev felt that Russell threw him under the bus. After, Russell told Jillian to help Trev, but he rudely rejected her help, and caused a slowdown on dishes leaving the kitchen. Fortunately, Trev’s refire was accepted, and Russell finished his turn at the pass on a high note. Nona ran the pass next, and knew that it was make or break it for her. Despite some initial stage fright, she called her first ticket strongly, and appetizers were leaving the kitchen. Then, Sous Chef Scott sent mashed celery root instead of mashed potatoes, and Nona failed to identify the mistake until Ramsay pointed it out, and she wondered if her palate was jacked up. Despite that, she rejected Russell’s chowder for not being seasoned properly, and continued to get food out to the dining room. An hour and a half into service, Russell and Nona’s efforts at the pass led to almost half of the diners being served. Trev ran the pass, and kept the momentum going. However, nobody responded to his ticket call as nobody was respecting him. Then, when he called a ticket of entrées, Ramsay reminded him that they did not serve appetizers yet, as Jillian said that he sucked. After, Sous Chef Scott brought sea bass instead of halibut, but Trev spotted the mistake. That led to a confidence boost as Trev got more vocal, and food was going out of the kitchen. Jillian was the last person who ran the pass, and was very confident.She immediately got vocal, and called orders with authority, but Russell got concerned that she might give herself a brain aneurysm. Despite that, Jillian’s assertiveness paid off as dishes were leaving the kitchen. Then, Sous Chef Scott sent a ribeye instead of a New York strip, and Jillian failed to notice it until Ramsay told her, and she decided to be very anal about attention. Then, she had an argument with Trev over his inconsistent fish portions and raw halibut. As Trev was talking back to Jillian, Ramsay reminded her that she had to take control of the kitchen. However, Jillian continued to struggle as Ramsay took over and warned Trev that if he did not get his shit together, he would be kicked out. Ramsay took control of the pass for the last few tickets, as the chefs completed service. Post-mortem When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay congratulated them for coming a long way since the beginning of the competition. Then, he asked them to discuss who should stay for the finals, and who should be eliminated. Back in the dorms, Jillian thought that she did great, even though Trev responded that she did nothing but yell at him at the pass. However, Russell reminded Trev of his struggles, but Trev felt that he handled the pass fine, and believed Nona had the worst performance at the pass. Nona answered that she worked her ass hard and did not care who went home, only for a pissed off Jillian to remind her that they all worked hard. Elimination As the final four went downstairs, Ramsay explained that after watching their performances at the pass, there was one person he believed that was not ready to be his next head chef at LA Market. Then, he eliminated Trev, but before he left, Ramsay praised him for his determination and fighting against all odds. Trev received a retrospective montage of his run during his exit interview. After Trev left, Ramsay told the finale three that while each of them deserved to be in the finals, only two of them would, before asking them why they deserved to be in the finals. Russell said that he wanted to prove Ramsay how strong he was, Nona said that she was an underdog and that it meant a lot for her to win, and Jillian said that she kicked ass every day since the beginning. After, Ramsay named Russell as the first finalist, and Nona as the second, therefore eliminating Jillian. Before she left, Ramsay praised her for being a fierce competitor, and allowed her to keep her jacket. Jillian received a retrospective montage of her run during her exit interview. After Jillian left, Ramsay congratulated Nona and Russell for being the finalists, and said that it would be an amazing finale, before dismissing them. While Russell continued to believe that he was his own worst enemy and was very confident in winning, Nona was excited for making it that far, and said that she could not be broken. Finally, Jillian received the burning picture sequence. Ramsay's comment: "Jillian didn't let her lack of fine dining experience get in the way. She made it this far because of her passion and determination. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to get her into the final." Ramsay gave no comment on Trev’s elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence. Category:Season 8 Category:Episodes